Chia Ti Lik, of the recently-formed SG Human Rights, said Singapore -- which prides itself on being a First World country -- is "far behind" less economically developed nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, which have national rights commissions.

"We have always prided ourselves on comparisons with the developed countries of the world," said Chia, a lawyer.

He said the group has no target for the number of signatures it hopes to gather during the petition drive over the next few months.

"We will try to get as many as possible," he said. The group, which he called a loose association of activists concerned about human rights, aims to present the petition before Singapore ends its term as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) mid next year.

At its annual summit in Singapore last month, ASEAN signed a charter which calls for establishment of an ASEAN human rights body.

"We have a situation where the chair is actually not leading by example," Chia said of Singapore.

He said that although "we do not have very bad cases of abuses", an independent commission would ensure that any cases in the city-state are brought to public attention.

It would also signal that the government "is serious about giving Singaporeans their space," he said.

Since independence in 1965, Singapore has grown from a Third World country to an Asian economic powerhouse. But critics say this has come at a price, in the form of restrictions on freedom of speech and political activity.

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